*Spoiler* Madrid Open

For those of you that got to watch the Semi Final Match between Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open today, you witnessed probably the next best match since Nadal / Federer Wimbledon 08. Especially the 3rd Set and subsequent Tie Breaker.

Although I'm one who truly wants to see Roger Federer break some of those records we've all been waiting for, I'm beginning to think Rafael Nadal is destined to go down in history as being a part of some of the best Matches of this period in Men's Professional Tennis.

Rafael Nadal is truly a Coaches best example when talking to your Students about the necessity of good training & work ethics. Even though I try to explain to my kids how important it is to give it your all when you walk out onto the Court, my point is best illustrated when they see that Nadal never gives up on a point regardless. Match point down means nothing to Nadal. For him, it's just another opportunity to win a point. He doesn't chock or lose his nerve. Nadal plays match point the same as he plays the first point of the Match, 10&#37; All Out.

Last edited by Coach; 05-17-2009 at 12:02 AM.

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

yes, some excellent tennis today! i never knew Djokovic had it in him; the entire arena was not only rooting for Nadal, but seriously rooting against Djokovic! he handled it well, went for winners only when he felt comfortable, and kept his composure most of the time. it was so exciting. even my younger brother (not a tennis fan) was glued to the tennis channel.

in regards to the second match - how about all those drop shots Federer employed? i thought Del Potro was going to explode after about the fifth winner in that manner.

Again I am totally baffled when I see a Player really take it Nadal with relative success and even if they ultimately lose the Match, there are those that put up a terrific battle, whilst I consider a person with a little more talent employing the same tactics would fair well against Nadal.

I mean Players like Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Andy Murray and even James Blake have measurable success against Nadal in their similar forms of attack against him. And even though they subsequently lose the War, each seem to wage impressive scrimmages forcing Nadal to come up with the goods.

And it then becomes obvious to me if someone like Roger Federer exercises that same style of play against Nadal who has matchable weapons like Nadal, he would have a receipt for winning. So can someone please explain to me why then does Federer have such a difficult time breaking through with Nadal on the other side when he has no problem with the very people that Nadal does have problems with?

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

6-4 6-4 what problem? seriously though, neither Federer nor Nadal played at their best. still it was a great tournament from start to finish.

Good Morning LT ~

Does the phrase ' anticlimactic ' mean anything to you?

This is only the 2nd Time Roger Federer has beaten Nadal on Clay. The 1st was in 2007 at the ATP Masters Series Hamburg, Germany. Which was a warmup to the French. At that time Roger was firmly #1 in the World and other than Nadal's dominance on Clay, most considered Roger's win in Germany a prelude to what would be his victory in Paris (finally) and the subsequent results in Paris were Nadal beating Federer in 6-4 in the 4th ¶

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

good evening Coach you didn't enjoy the viewing today? i always root for the underdog. i agree though, compared to yesterdays three set double tie-break semi, the final was boring. it really did surprise how easily Nadal went down - dare i say "choke".. no, not Rafa.

notice the *wink* after i said "6-4 6-4 what problem?" this game in no way dethrones Nadal as the King of Clay.

good evening Coach you didn't enjoy the viewing today? i always root for the underdog. i agree though, compared to yesterdays three set double tie-break semi, the final was boring. it really did surprise how easily Nadal went down - dare i say "choke".. no, not Rafa.

notice the *wink* after i said "6-4 6-4 what problem?" this game in no way dethrones Nadal as the King of Clay.

No not at all and I'm actually amazed that those Commentators are claiming Nadal & Djokovic are now the two best Clay Court Players in the World.

The accuracy of that statement is based purely on the Match that Rafa / Djokovic had in the Semis. Ok I understand and what they do in Paris is the true test of their resolve. I think for Federer winning today was indeed sending a message that he intends on being a factor at the French.

People we have short memories but if there are any among us that remembers last year when Joko was making all these claims that Federer was a step slow and not the Player he was a year before. Well if you do recall his statements to the Media, do you also recall what happened between them (Federer & Djokovic) in the Semis? Well let's just say Novak Djokovic did not play in the Finals of Roland Garros 2008, Roger Federer did despite all of Djokovic's claims of a slow more vulnerable Federer.

I still believe Roger will not fair as well as he would like and it did not appear to me that Rafa played the same match as he did against Novak. It was a very easy win for Roger and should they meet in Paris, Rafa will be a much different Player. So Roger needs to savor this win because at the end of the day, this might be the last during the Clay Court Season. It was great that he grabbed a Title finally, nothing more.

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

No not at all and I'm actually amazed that those Commentators are claiming Nadal & Djokovic are now the two best Clay Court Players in the World.

The accuracy of that statement is based purely on the Match that Rafa / Djokovic had in the Semis. Ok I understand and what they do in Paris is the true test of their resolve. I think for Federer winning today was indeed sending a message that he intends on being a factor at the French.

People we have short memories but if there are any among us that remembers last year when Joko was making all these claims that Federer was a step slow and not the Player he was a year before. Well if you do recall his statements to the Media, do you also recall what happened between them (Federer & Djokovic) in the Semis? Well let's just say Novak Djokovic did not play in the Finals of Roland Garros 2008, Roger Federer did despite all of Djokovic's claims of a slow more vulnerable Federer.

I still believe Roger will not fair as well as he would like and it did not appear to me that Rafa played the same match as he did against Novak. It was a very easy win for Roger and should they meet in Paris, Rafa will be a much different Player. So Roger needs to savor this win because at the end of the day, this might be the last during the Clay Court Season. It was great that he grabbed a Title finally, nothing more.